


How Can I Say?

by MiraculousAlfa



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged up characters, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Love Song, Mild Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-15 17:10:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11810469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiraculousAlfa/pseuds/MiraculousAlfa
Summary: It had been almost three years since Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng received their Miraculous' at barely fifteen years of age, and they were still unaware of each other's secret identities.





	How Can I Say?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [My beautiful wife who loves fluff](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=My+beautiful+wife+who+loves+fluff).



> I thought that I'd try to create something around a song that I wrote years before the show first aired that just so happened to fit. It's my first fic ever.
> 
> Thanks to Wai-Jing Waraugh, one of my favourite FF authors, for her encouragement.

It had been almost three years since Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng received their Miraculous' at barely fifteen years of age, and they were _still_ unaware of each other's secret identities. They both accepted that it would happen one day, but neither was willing to take the first step. Well, Ladybug was unwilling, and Cat Noir respected her so much that he wouldn't deliberately initiate anything. But for his sense of honour, and the value that he attached to His Lady's trust, Cat would long ago have followed her home after one of their night patrols. When it came right down to it, with his stealth abilities and night vision, there really wasn't much that Ladybug could do to stop him.

Marinette had always been pretty, but over the past three years, while gaining only a few inches in height, her natural curves had increased as she matured into a confident young woman who happened to be a stunningly exotic beauty with her half Chinese, half French heritage. Her dark, almost unnaturally long lashes meant that she didn't really need mascara to frame the depths of her large, bluebell eyes. She had grown her hair longer so that she could occasionally leave it attractively down or up in a bun, but she still preferred her characteristic tails most of the time. She had even managed to reduce her stuttering around Adrien Agreste, her crush since his first day at Collège Françoise Dupont, the day after she received her Miraculous, although she had yet to eliminate it completely. At least that's what Marinette told herself. Having eyes only for him, she was completely unaware of the effect that she had on every heterosexual male with whom she came into contact, and some others besides. To know her was to love her, with the glaring exception of Adrien's childhood friend, Chloé Bourgeois, the overly made up, socially conscious blonde daughter of the mayor of Paris, who was still suffering from the delusion that Adrien might be interested in her but for Marinette. Although the object of her desire and her rival were still not a couple, Chloé didn't really need her usual instincts for such things. One look at the dark haired beauty was enough.

Marinette had watched Adrien shoot up to somewhere over six feet, able to look his father in the eye, while his build had developed in proportion. He had put on some real muscle and his modelling portfolio had similarly matured. Marinette knew that Adrien was fit, what with all the sports that he had mastered, but as she soon discovered on the occasion that she and Alya had recently accompanied him and Nino to a beach picnic, she was still unprepared for the visceral effect that he would have on her when he took his shirt off before going for a swim. Looking at him in magazines was one thing, but seeing him in the flesh up close was another matter entirely, making everything more real and personal. Marinette felt as if her eyes were watering while she had heart palpitations! With his blonde hair, piercing green eyes, chiselled jaw, broad shoulders and six pack (or was it an eight pack?), Marinette was still able to reflect upon the fact that, while Adrien had always had model looks, his character was what had made her fall so hard, well before his current physique had developed, when he had offered her his umbrella in the rain almost three years earlier. Typically, she was completely clueless when he had sprinted into the water for a swim because he needed to cool off after watching her strip down to her cute, skimpy red-with-black-polka-dots bikini. Momentarily dazed, he couldn't help wondering what she did in her spare time to look so fit.

Ladybug had almost reached the highest viewing platform of the Eiffel Tower on the way to her patrol rendezvous with Cat Noir one night when she paused, as the sound of a beautiful masculine voice singing a song she had never heard before reached down and held her. It reminded her of Ed Sheeran with more power. It could only be one person and, as she quietly moved closer, Ladybug was able to make out some of the words:

"I love your midnight hair  
Your pixie-like air  
The depth of your bluebell stare  
And all I can think of, is you

How can I say, I want you?  
How can I say, I need you?  
How can I say, I love you?  
When I can't even talk, to you"

Ladybug couldn't help but wonder if the song was about her, yet it was being sung with so much emotion that it didn't seem to fit with Cat's usual flirty behaviour toward her. Besides, he had never had any difficulty talking to _her_. She held her breath as she paused before making herself known to her partner by swinging up to land next to him on the platform.

Momentarily startled, Cat Noir paused as he caught sight of one of the two most important women in his life. Ladybug smiled as she exhaled.

"That was beautiful Cat. You reminded me of Ed Sheeran."

Cat paused as he took her in.

"Well My Lady, it's not 'Perfect', but it _does_ express my feelings for a very special person in my life."

Ladybug tried to stifle a blush. "Who wrote it? I haven't heard it before".

Cat sighed before giving her a measured stare.

"I wrote it for a girl in my class... who, to be honest, reminds me of you. She was my first real friend at school, and I...I think I've fallen in love with her. I think that I've always been in love with her but didn't want to admit it because..." He stopped, leaving unsaid, "my heart was _yours._ "

He couldn't help feeling a little guilty about his declaration, but what else could he say? He would always love Ladybug, and would give his life for her, but she had made it clear that her romantic interest lay elsewhere. It was time for him to grow up and face reality.

Suddenly desperate to appear unaffected, Ladybug lightheartedly asked, "Wow! What's she like Kitty? She must really be something special! After all, you've never written a song for _me_."

She immediately regretted that last comment when, much to her annoyance, a wide grin spread across Cat's face as his eyes lost their focus. When he began to speak, it was as if a dam was breaking.

"She's sweet, gentle, kind, compassionate, incredibly smart, loyal, courageous, a leader who never hesitates to stand up to bullies, and with all of that, she's totally unaware of just how beautiful she really is, and gets so nervous around me that she stutters and mixes up her words so much that I sometimes wonder if she's afraid of me, or just doesn't like me. She has the cutest pigtails and incredible talent as a fashion designer. She has porcelain skin, beautiful lips, a small mouth and just a few of the faintest of freckles on each side of her perfect little nose, with pitch black hair framing her almost elfin, heart shaped face. Her hair is so fine and dark that it seems to reflect blue highlights in the right conditions. I can't help losing myself in her big bluebell eyes. It sounds cliché, but I just want to hold her and kiss her and never let her go."

Ladybug's partner looked as if he was coming out of a trance before collecting himself enough to look a little embarrassed.

"Like I said, she reminds me of you My Lady. I know that you don't want us to share too many details about our civilian lives, but it's a real shame that I can't let you know her name. That really _would_ be too much information."

He didn't need to add that his feelings for this girl rivalled his love for Ladybug. It was patently obvious.

Ladybug's breath caught in her throat as she felt a pang of jealousy. What was that description if not too much information? Wait, what was happening? What did she have to be jealous about? She loved _Adrien_. Why hadn't she kept her mouth shut? Attempting to hide her feelings, and failing miserably, she brusquely suggested that they begin their patrol.

Later that evening, after returning to her attic bedroom above her parents' bakery, Marinette reflected upon her partner's demeanour that evening. There had been none of the usual cheerful banter from Cat, and she would be lying if she said that she didn't miss it. Instead, he only spoke when he had to, and couldn't wait to get away once their patrol was over. There had been no flirting and no puns, not _one_! He had been a complete gentleman all night. It was as if he had withdrawn from her, and she didn't like it. She wanted her old Cat back, and wondered if his civilian identity was showing through. It was all very efficient, but Marinette felt a sense of loss. Cat seemed to be just going through the motions, as if his thoughts were elsewhere. More accurately, they _were_ elsewhere, with that amazing girl. Marinette began to appreciate how little thought she had given to the boy behind the mask of the black cat. She hoped that this wasn't how things would be going into the future, but was at a loss as to what to do to change things back. She had rejected Cat so many times that it would be unreasonable of her to expect him not to move on yet, for some irrational reason, it still hurt.

"Tikki, I wonder who the girl in Cat's class could be. Wouldn't it be amazing if she goes to my school? That would mean that _he_ goes to my school! I just can't think of anyone who would fit her description."

Her kwami stared at her chosen, wondering just how myopic she could be. Then again, she supposed, Marinette would be reasoning that Paris had a lot of dark haired schoolgirls, but bluebell eyes? It was a struggle for Tikki to avoid sounding too sarcastic.

"Hmm, midnight hair with pigtails, bluebell eyes, a fashion designer, unable to talk to her crush. I have no idea Marinette!"

Marinette didn't get much sleep that night. She couldn't relax while her thoughts were in such turmoil, her conversation with Cat Noir replaying itself over and over in her head. It had affected her more than she ever expected or wanted to admit, causing her to question her own life choices without even realising it. What was going on in her subconscious? If she hadn't fallen so hard for Adrien Agreste, how might her relationship with her heroic partner have developed? She had always thought that she was a one-man girl, and she was simply incapable of romantic feelings toward Cat, yet she was starting to question herself. After all, she trusted him with her life, and had always thought of him as her other best friend in addition to Alya. She couldn't help her feelings for Adrien, but what if there had been no Adrien? Cat was so similar, with wild blonde hair, bright green eyes, a similar build, enormous integrity and an overriding kindness toward others, as if the real world, and the occasionally mentioned distant-in-every-way father, had never been able to saddle his personality with the cynical disposition that the years could sometimes impose. She seemed to have a type. What if her relationship with Adrien never left the friend zone, and HE moved on? The thought terrified her.

At school the next day, sitting in her usual second row seat on Alya's right, a sleep deprived Marinette spent most of her morning struggling to keep her eyes open, becoming increasingly aware of the stares from her crush directly in front of her. She started to relapse into that old anxiety that she felt when he focused his attention on her. She wondered what was going on. Did she have something in her hair, or food stuck in her teeth? Maybe he had noticed how tired she was. She was grateful that her seat was on the left side of the classroom because of the modest advantage it afforded her in avoiding her teacher's attention at those times when she was having trouble concentrating, which often happened after an akuma attack, or she started daydreaming about a life with Adrien. As the morning wore on, Marinette began to think more clearly. Cat's declaration had forced her to realise that she couldn't continue to float along as usual. Something had to change. She resolved that she was going to do more than just be around Adrien because his best friend was Alya's boyfriend. She was going to ask him for a date. At lunch! After all, she tried to convince herself, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

By the time that the lunch period had arrived, Marinette's resolve was starting to falter. She hated herself for it. The two girls expected to spend the lunch break with Nino and Adrien in the park as usual, but Adrien surprised them all by begging off. Marinette couldn't seem to catch a break!

Pausing at the top of the Collège Françoise Dupont front steps, he declared, "I'm staying behind guys, I want to practise a new piece of music that's really important to me."

He seemed to be staring at Marinette!

Nino's disappointment was all too obvious.

"Seriously dude, don't you practise your piano enough already? You need to take a break!"

"Actually, it's a guitar piece, and I don't _have_ to do it. I _want_ to do it."

"Oh, really?", grinned Alya, "Is it anything I might have heard? What's it called?"

While addressing every question thrown at him by his friends, not once did Adrien's gaze shift from Marinette's. Her mouth partly open, she was unable to look away. Was that _love_ in his eyes? Despite her usual nerves, she was having to resist the urge to charge at her crush and climb up him to smother him in passionate kisses. Sooner or later she was going to act on one of her fantasies, just not today!

Dragging his eyes away from Marinette's, Adrien smiled and turned to walk back into the school.

 "How Can I Say?".

Nino stared after him. "Was that a question or an answer?"

Alya glanced at Marinette, who looked like she had seen a ghost.

"Come on girl, you'll get to see him after lunch! What are you looking so worried about?"

A full octave higher than normal, Marinette squeaked, "Uh, n-nothing! I'm alright. You know me...?"

"Girl, did you see how many times that boy stared at you this morning? He was trying to hide it, but I reckon the whole class noticed."

"Really? I wasn't aware of anything out of the ordinary."

The blush spreading up her face gave the lie to Marinette's denial.

"Marinette, _seriously_? Girl, I think that boy is finally beginning to realise just how amazing you really are!"

Alya nudged her boyfriend, "What do you think Nino?"

"Well, I was wondering when we'll get to hear this song. I mean, who gives up lunch to practise a song? He must be _really_ into it."

By the time that her lunch break was barely half over, Marinette could no longer contain her curiosity. Was there _anything_ that boy couldn't do? What did he mean by that answer? She hoped that the look she had seen on Adrien's face hadn't just been wishful thinking on her part. She turned to Alya and Nino, trying to look casual.

"I have to check on something I left at school! See you in class."

Marinette got up and left without waiting for any questions that she may not want to answer.

She managed to walk at her normal pace until she was out of sight, aware of Alya and Nino's eyes boring holes into her back. By the time that she reached the school steps, she was alternately walking and half running. Taking the steps two at a time, she entered the school and headed for the first floor music room. Miraculously, she didn't trip over the air as she all but sprinted up the internal stairs. She could already hear the sweetly rhythmic strumming of a folk guitar and a strangely familiar voice, despite never having heard Adrien sing before, echoing down the hallway as she approached the music room door.

Marinette paused, and noted through one of the room's windows that Adrien was alone. She was finally having some luck, because at any other time, there would probably have been a crowd of fans around him. He was half sitting on the edge of a desk, concentrating on a simple four chord arrangement with a catchy tune as he alternately strummed and plucked his guitar. Something about it sounded vaguely familiar, but she was so focused on her crush that it didn't click.

Marinette was opening the door as Adrien chose another verse and started to sing. She froze, the lyrics affecting her almost like a physical blow:

"I love your midnight hair  
Your pixie-like air  
The depth of your bluebell stare  
And all I can think of, is you

How can I say,..."

Adrien paused, still lightly strumming his guitar as he noticed Marinette standing at the door, gaping at him.

"Marinette!...Are you OK?"

"A-Adrien, where did you g-g-get that s-song?"

He smiled gently, and a look of tender introspection overcame him.

"I wrote it...for you. Do,...do you like it?"

Without conscious volition on her part, Marinette felt her legs slowly moving her forward, her eyes wide, riveted to Adrien's. _"I wrote it for a girl in my class...I think that I've always been in love with her..."_  She was feeling light headed. Her mind was in such a state that time seemed to have slowed as multiple thoughts and images flashed through her consciousness, threatening to overwhelm her.

She mentally cringed as she recalled mocking Cat as she laughingly dismissed Alya's occasional suggestions that he could ever be Adrien. She remembered the split second that Cat had put himself between her and Timebreaker without hesitation, hugging her and taking the touch that would have sent her into oblivion, knowing that he might never come back. It was as if he was saying goodbye while protecting her.

How churlish had her reaction been to Cat accidentally finishing on top of her after she froze, and he had to tackle her to prevent Simon Says from hitting her with the cards that would have forced her to give up her Miraculous? During that incident, he had known that the Agreste Mansion had a lockdown defence system. Why hadn't she picked up on that? It was obvious now why, two years earlier, Cat was so certain that the image of Adrien being suspended by Volpina near the top of the Eiffel Tower was an illusion, as she prepared to give up her Miraculous to save him. Her single minded devotion to Adrien had blinded her.

Cat had known just what to say to calm her down and restore her confidence when she was full of self-doubt in their second battle with Stoneheart, the day after she received her Miraculous. He _always_ knew what to say. She remembered his anguished scream when he thought that she had been crushed by the jaws of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and hugged her instead of doing their regular fist bump. She thought of all the times that Cat had tried to kiss her, and she had rejected him. Rejected Adrien! He was so exuberantly over the top as Cat Noir because he was compensating for being miserable and restricted at home, and she had not understood. She had never made the connection. He had sacrificed himself so many times for her, and STILL she hadn't realised just how much he loved her. She had used his jesting as a crutch to allow her to avoid thinking about it, dismissing his expressions of affection as casual flirting. No _wonder_ he had decided to move on. She must have hurt him so many times. But here she was, being given another chance at happiness. He had moved on from her,..to her!

In spite of her sudden awareness, internally she was almost screaming.

'Ohmygod!Ohmygod!Ohmygod! It CAN'T be! I'm not that lucky! Please, please, please!'

By then Adrien was looking just a little alarmed.

"Marinette, what...?"

"I...LOVE it!"

She smiled softly as she reached him and extended her right hand to tentatively brush her fingers along the left cheek of the love of her life. At the touch, her eyes went wide again, and she mouthed a silent "Oh". Adrien couldn't believe that his formerly shy, stuttering classmate could suddenly be so intimate after hearing his song.

"I love your song, I love it _so_ much, and I love YOU...Cat Noir."

"Marinette, what the...what are you TALKING about!?"

By then, a tear was trickling down her left cheek. Marinette was SO happy, she was struggling to maintain her composure. All thoughts of hiding her secret identity had dissipated like smoke. Her inhibitions and childish fears were gone.

Stifling the characteristic, musical giggle that Adrien found so endearing, she looked up at him through her dark, oh so long lashes and breathed, "Adrien,...I heard you singing that song...before we went on patrol last night."

As understanding slowly dawned upon him, Adrien gasped as his eyes widened. Marinette's smile softened even more as a look of wonder spread across his face. No _wonder_ that his stunning classmate had reminded him of Ladybug. He had fallen for the same girl, twice! He had described Marinette...to Marinette! This couldn't be _happening_!

"Marinette,...Ladybug,...My Lady! I don't know what to...you _love_ me!? Please, Marinette, I've been waiting _so_ long to find you! Can I, may I,...would it be alright if I kiss y..mmph!"

Marinette's right hand had continued past his cheek to cup the back of Adrien's head where her long, graceful fingers delicately played with his hair and caressed his scalp, her left hand against his chest was fisted into his shirt as she pulled him to her and his arms went around her, holding her tight. She didn't care who saw them, as Adrien sat back on the desk and lifted her effortlessly onto his lap while his soft, soft lips reciprocated with an almost violent passion against hers. Finally understanding Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', she was sure that, from that moment on she would sacrifice anything to be with her Romeo. She hadn't thought it possible for her feelings for Adrien to be any stronger, but this was overpowering. Almost three years of yearning for something she was beginning to feel that she didn't deserve, and would never achieve, suddenly culminating in something more important to her than her Miraculous was being packed into her kiss, and judging by his reaction, Adrien felt the same. She didn't want it to end. Why did she have to breathe!? Why couldn't school be over? How would she react when Cat next put himself between her and an akuma?

Adrien gasped as he broke their kiss to breathe.

"Wow! Our first kiss. It really _was_ worth waiting for. _You_ were worth waiting for!"

"Actually,..." Marinette tittered, "it was our second, kitty."

"Marinette...", he smiled, "Come on! Seriously, I think that I'd remember our first kiss! I'd be insulting you if I forgot."

Marinette pulled back and gave him a measured look, as if in two minds as to what to say.

"Do you remember Dark Cupid? You protected me as usual, by taking an arrow that was meant for me, but it filled you with hate. Then you attacked me! Only true love's kiss could reverse its evil hold on you, so that's what I did. You were on top of me, about to take my Miraculous, threatening to use your Cataclysm on me, so I pulled your face down and kissed you..." She sighed, "...deeply. I should have realised then that it only worked because you were Cat Noir. I was SO blind! I'm sorry! Maybe I was just too young." She felt as though she was babbling!

Adrien was mortified that he couldn't remember their first kiss, but even more so by the fact that he had tried to hurt His Lady, despite Marinette's assertions that it wasn't his fault, after all, what might have happened if _she_ had been hit by the arrow? She really _was_ Ladybug!

Adrien let his forehead rest against Marinette's, his eyes unwavering as they were held by the almost hypnotically deep blue of her eyes as he opened himself to her, wanting her to see into his soul and know that his feelings for her were not some childish short term infatuation. He felt as if he was having a transcendental experience.

"Marinette,..."

"Mmmhmm?"

"I know we're only seventeen,.."

"Almost eighteen!", she quickly interjected.

"..but there can never be anyone else for me. Nothing will ever change that. In every way, you're the most amazing, beautiful person I've ever seen. I loved Ladybug because she is _you_ Marinette. When we fought Stoneheart, I promised myself that I would love the girl behind the mask, whoever she is. I intend to keep that promise, for the rest of my life if you'll let me."

"Oh my beautiful kitten!" Marinette pulled him in for what she intended to be a tender, gentler, kiss. A minute later she gasped.

"You've _always_ been the only one for me, since the end of your first day at school, after you cared enough to give me your umbrella in the rain."

He had convinced her that he hadn't put gum on her seat that morning. Then she had seen the sincerity in his beautiful green eyes when he offered her his umbrella and she realised how wrong she had been about him. She saw a kind, caring, thoughtful, boy who wasn't afraid to be open with her. When he laughed at the umbrella closing on her head, she was gone.

She giggled. To Adrien, it would always be the most beautiful sound in the world.

"It didn't hurt that you were hot! Before that, I thought you were a jerk. A very attractive jerk, but still a jerk, and it was so _unfair_! You hadn't done anything wrong."

Adrien sighed. "That was a _long_ time ago Marinette. You weren't the only one who couldn't see the obvious. I feel like such an idiot!"

"Adrien, how could you have known? I fell so hard that I always went to pieces around you. You could be forgiven for thinking that I didn't like you, when the truth is that I...I never felt good enough for you."

Adrien looked horrified. "Not _good_ enough! Oh Marinette!" He slowly kissed her. "My beautiful (kiss), sweet (kiss), kind (kiss), unbelievably capable Marinette! (kiss) Please,... _please_ believe me when I say that being the object of your affection makes me the luckiest man to have ever existed. So many people are going to _hate_ me when they find out that we're together!"

A little black creature resembling a cat with big green eyes, who Marinette realised could only be her new boyfriend's kwami, poked his head out of his chosen's shirt pocket and exclaimed,

"I've had to put up with this idiot for three years. Ladybug this, Ladybug that. Plagg, you don't know anything about love. Purr _lease_!"

"Plagg!", Adrien exclaimed.

"Ooh Marinette! Nice to finally be able to talk to you! I'm Plagg, do you have any cheese? Camembert would be nice. Where's Tikki? Did you just accept Adrien's proposal?"

Tikki flew up from Marinette's purse and bopped him on the nose.

"Plagg!"

Marinette giggled. "Isn't he cute!"

Still glaring at him, Adrien responded, "I can think of many words to describe him, and cute isn't one of them. His mouth doesn't have a filter."

Not content for Plagg to be the only embarrassing kwami, Tikki piped up, "Marinette, maybe now you can take down all those pictures of Adrien plastered all around your bedroom."

"Tikki!!"

As was so often the case, Marinette and Adrien were the last to return to class, but for once it had nothing to do with sleep deprivation or an akuma. Their remaining time in the music room had flown with more lingering, tender kisses as the happy couple exchanged sweet nothings. They had briefly considered spending the rest of the day at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but they had already lost too much school time with their superhero activities. As it turned out, it would have been a good decision because they were unable to concentrate on anything outside of themselves anyway. Everyone's attention was drawn to the sight of Marinette arriving hand in hand with her crush and kissing him without any self-consciousness at all. Most thought that it was long overdue.

Adrien paused in front of his best friend's usual seat, absently rubbing Marinette's back with one hand.

"Nino, would you mind taking Marinette's seat next to Alya,... _permanently_?"

"Dude! Finally! Bro, it would be my pleasure."

Alya wondered what had happened so fast as her eyebrows attempted the impossible feat of reaching the top of her head.

Chloé looked as if she was having an existential crisis. Bracing herself for the inevitable, Marinette idly thought, 'Here we go.' She really just did not care.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, really! What do you think you're doing? Do you really think you have a future with Adrien? Do you _seriously_ think he isn't going to get tired of someone so far beneath him? Adrien, what's the matter with you? Surely you can see the obvious..."

Marinette interrupted in a bored tone. "Chloé, has anyone ever told you that you're an awful snob?"

Chloé recoiled, looking as if she wanted to _slap_ Marinette, little knowing how potentially dangerous that could be for her, when Adrien decided to step in. He knew that Marinette could defend herself, but on this occasion, why should she have to?

"Chloé, back off! I'd like to continue to maintain some kind of friendship with you, but you aren't fifteen anymore, and it's time to grow up! I really don't know why you're so threatened by Marinette, but the next time that you insult my girlfriend, you are going to have a serious problem...with _me_! If you were really my friend, you'd be _happy_ for me. Marinette's done nothing to you, so why don't you try to like her?"

"She's taken _you_!" She almost sobbed.

Adrien's face softened as he regarded his former childhood friend. He knew from long experience that, despite her perceived wealth and social standing, she was really just a lonely girl who had never gotten over the loss of her mother. He gently put his hands on her shoulders.

"Chloé, Marinette hasn't taken me. I'm free to make my own decisions, and we've chosen each other. Come on Chloé, I know that you'll find someone, it just can't ever be me. But we can still be friends, you _know_ we can!"

Chloé studied his face, and even _she_ could see the sincerity in his eyes. She nodded her head, finally accepting defeat, and slowly returned to her seat.

Adrien turned to Marinette who was beaming at him with pride. He could have slapped Chloé down, but he had shown his usual compassion and tried to help her. It reminded her of Cat Noir taking the time to comfort a de-evilised akuma victim while she spoke to the press.

Miss Bustier's arrival put an end to the general noise in the classroom, but the focus on the new couple continued.

For the rest of the afternoon, anyone in the class who cared to look, and that was most of them, was treated to the entertaining sight of Adrien and Marinette always managing to find a way to be in physical contact. With Adrien's left hand around Marinette's shoulder, migrating down to her waist and then up to idly rub her back whenever he had the opportunity. As if that wasn't enough, he would wrap his ankle around Marinette's or hold her hand as she leaned into him, stealing a kiss whenever the teacher turned her back. Eventually, they were able to settle against each other while holding hands to show a semblance of interest in the lesson. It was all so sweet that Alya thought she would get a cavity if she kept watching them. She could understand Marinette's enthusiasm, but where was Adrien coming from? If he had been pining over Marinette for the last three years, he had hidden it well until recently. She had always believed that he had a thing for Ladybug.

Miss Bustier had become increasingly aware that her literature class was going off the rails. For some reason, everyone was staring at Adrien and Marinette who, she realised, had obviously become a couple, oblivious to the attention that they were generating. It was inevitable that she would eventually catch the happy pair kissing.

"Adrien, Marinette! Is today's topic _boring_ you? Would you prefer that we leave our study of 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' and turn our attention to Shakespeare? Perhaps you'd like 'The Winter's Tale' or 'Romeo and Juliet'?"

Miss Bustier had to resist the urge to face-palm herself when, instead of apologising as expected, Marinette responded dreamily, "Yes please."

Adrien whispered, "I love you Bugaboo, you're _always_ going to be my Purrincess."

He heard a gasp, and belatedly remembered that there was an aspiring journalist sitting behind him with bat ears. Crap!

" _What_?" He scowled at her, "I liked her bikini!" He turned back to Marinette.

Narrowing her eyes, Alya frowned and pulled out her old picture of Ladybug with the face cut out. She held it up with her left hand and whisper shouted, "Marinette!"

Her best friend turned to look at her and, in one smooth motion, Alya framed Marinette's face in the cut-out while taking a picture of the image with the phone in her other hand. Staring at the result, Alya quietly exhaled the breath she hadn't realised she was holding.

"Oh. My. God!", she whispered.

She was having an epiphany of her own. Three years and she had never noticed, until everything became obvious with just two terms of endearment. What were the odds of Ladybug and Cat Noir attending the same school, let alone the same class, in a city the size of Paris? It was almost as if it had been planned!

In a world that included only her and Adrien, Marinette was oblivious to her friend's excitement, besides, she couldn't really say anything without further testing Miss Bustier's patience. She turned away and continued moving her thumb in circular motions as she held Adrien's hand.

Alya remembered all the times that Marinette had been absent during akuma attacks, or had odd excuses for being late to class, invariably after an early morning attack. Why hadn't she noticed how strange it was that Marinette needed a bathroom break whenever an attack occurred during class? Come to think of it, Adrien was the same! How had she ignored the unnatural speed of Marinette's movements when she was excited or embarrassed? No one else could move that fast except...Adrien! It was as if the superheroes had some kind of magic cloaking mechanism that protected their identities, but Adrien's words were just too obvious. They couldn't be unheard, and her composite picture of Marinette/Ladybug couldn't be unseen. So much would be explained by the happy couple being Ladybug and Cat Noir. Her Adrienette and Ladynoir ships were sailing at the same time!

How was it that Ladybug had known that Ivan was Stoneheart? It was all becoming clear. She remembered the Year 10 history textbook dropped by Ladybug shortly before she and Cat Noir fought the Pharaoh, that was used exclusively by Collège Françoise Dupont. She remembered visiting the King Tut exhibit at the Louvre with Marinette when the Pharaoh had appeared, and the incredible speed with which Ladybug had arrived on the scene to fight him. She was already there! Alya had always wondered about the oddly timed disappearance of the history textbook from her bag. She had never questioned Ladybug's willingness to single her out from among the crowds of reporters when the opportunity presented itself to give her an interview, knowing that she was the owner of the Ladyblog. Of course she did, they were best friends! No wonder that very same best friend had been able to arrange a one-on-one interview with Ladybug after she fought the Mime.

Alya's admiration for Marinette went up tenfold when she thought of the weight of responsibility that girl had borne for three years without any support from her loved ones. She really was amazing. Marinette was the _real_ hero, and Alya felt that she had come into possession of a sacred trust. She had always thought that it would be the biggest coup of her journalistic career if she was the one who was lucky enough to discover the superheroes' secret identities, but not anymore. She would keep Marinette's secret, and Adrien's too for that matter, but she _had_ to let them know that she would do anything to help them, that she would always be on their side. How to do that? She didn't want to spill the beans to Nino, that was for the heroes to decide. The more people who knew, the greater the potential for Hawk Moth to discover the heroes' identities, endangering them and their families and friends. She would try to be subtle.

As Adrien and Marinette were walking hand in hand down the school steps after classes had ended, Alya sidled up to her best friend's other side and whispered,

"Girl, what happened? You have to tell me! I want all the details, and I need to tell you something important. I think I know the secret identity of a little bug. Marinette!...Marinette?"

The object of her questioning turned to look at her with a serene look on her face, her mind still in some other place.

"Hmm?"

Alya wanted a response, and she knew how to get it. The time for subtlety was over. Marshalling all the courage that would make her a great journalist, she leaned into Marinette's ear and whispered,

"When are you going to set your wedding date, _Ladybug_?"

Unfazed, a warm smile spread across the lovestruck superhero's face as she pulled back to gaze at Alya and murmured,

 "How can I say?"


End file.
